Make Your Own Cartoon

Creating Flash animation for the internet involves a diverse set of skills, each one seemingly more important than the last. Not all of these steps are required and the order listed is only a general order, but following this outline will help you create your own cartoon.

The Idea

Every animation starts with an initial idea, and an idea can happen at any time. It’s common to carry a small notebook with you so you quickly jot down the idea when it strikes. If your mind typically starts to wander when you lay down to go go bed at night, keep a notebook on your nightstand. Do not wait until morning to write it down, this will only end in heartbreak.

Music often gets your mind wandering, following the path that the lyrics take you on. Assuming you’re not operating heavy machinery, don’t be afraid to close your eyes and direct the story that’s forming in your head. It will often lead you to an interesting place.

Script

Writing a script will keep you from getting frustrated with your voice actors and them with you. It is also a necessity the longer your animation is. It is recommended that you try to nail down the biggest points you know you need to make: items like plot, punchlines and any action sequences you have in mind should be scripted.

Storyboards

While creating full blown storyboards for every animation may feel unnecessary, please take the time to at least sketch out a general plan. Even if all you do is use circles to represent your characters, at least you’ll have the knowledge of how you want to frame your animation. This knowledge can save you many hours of frustration later on.

Here are two sets of storyboard examples:
Episode 10, set 1
Episode 10, set 2

Recording Voices

There are many audio software options available for recording voices, both for the Mac and PC. It’s important to use a sound recording utility that can scrub the audio of most impurities, especially scratches.

They can be pricey, but it is also recommended that you purchase a quality preamp and condenser microphone (note that the microphone cable to connect the two is usually not included with either package). The long thin microphone that came with your computer is just not good enough.

Don’t be afraid to direct your voice actors. If you have a clear vision of the emotion you’re looking for make sure you communicate that.

Here’s a more detailed introduction to voice recording:
Voice Recording for Animation

Animatic

The purpose of an animatic is to figure out pacing and timing. An animatic is a very trimmed down version of the final animation that helps block out the key points of each scene. Think of them as animated storyboards. Often the voice work is added to help plan out the scene as that’s a key part of the pacing.

Here’s a more detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to create an animatic:
Animatic Tutorial

Animation

The heart of the matter, and what I’m sure you’ve been waiting for. If nothing else, please note all the planning that goes into an animation before getting anywhere near the animation itself. Everything before this step is merely prep work for this stage, but those steps are extremely vital to the entire animation process.

Animation can of course be created any number of ways. On Calico Monkey I use Toon Boom (affiliate) to create animation, then import that into Flash. 3D work is popular, and even claymation is digitally possible these days (I’ve read great things about iStopMotion for the Mac, I hope to officially give it a try someday).

There are so many new things constantly coming out in the world of animation, if you’re perfectly comfortable with the program you’re using, then you need to try harder. Stretch your comfort level even farther. Do something new that nobody’s ever thought of before! Make something amazing that the world will love, but don’t get complacent and churn out more of the same thing over and over. You have to find a way to challenge yourself every day.

Sound Effects

When collecting sound effects the best thing to do is create a complete list of all the sounds you will need, so you can check them off as you go. You can either create your own sounds, or you can find them online. While there are a few free options, I really like
SoundRangers.com. They have a very useful Flash utility that lets you preview each sound very quickly, and the prices are very reasonable, usually under $2.

Music

Music is this far down on the list because this is where I usually start thinking about it. It is a very important element though, and can lead the viewer through a wide range of emotions. This is why properly pairing it with the animation can be so strong.

You could even consider working it into your animatics. Does it set the mood properly? Does it take the user by the hand and say “you should be feeling joy right now”?

Composite

Once all the elements have been created it’s time to meld them all together into one complete animation. Toon Boom is great for this as it gives you the option of exporting to so many useful formats, including .mov which is what YouTube prefers, as well as the ability to import everything directly into Flash. The .mov is also the preferred format for animation festivals, a very important way to gain recognition.

Distribute

Now that your animation is perfect, it’s time to get it out there! Go tell your family and friends, let them know what you’ve been working on.

As mentioned, if it’s a .mov file (and under 100 megs), consider putting your animation on YouTube. If it’s a Flash based .swf file, then post it on your blog and people will spread the word for you. StumbleUpon is a great way to get visitors to your site (even though they may never return). You can also submit it to a Flash based portal site like NewGrounds. Consider starting your own newsletter at someplace like MailChimp (affiliate) so that you can keep your loyal viewers up-to-date on your animation. I’m sure your mom will appreciate it too.

Here’s a list of 20 ways to share your cartoon with the world.

Creating a great animation takes a good amount of time, but can be done by anybody. Do you have an animation to share? Post a link to it in the comments below so that we can all see.

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